Make Wa-Hi more welcoming — vote ‘yes’

Challenges and differences? We all have them! And, they are even brought more to light during a tough financial climate.

But the importance of having good, quality places for young people to learn and for teachers to teach not only provides a purpose for our community and accessibility to all, but lifts the spirits and aspirations of everyone who uses them.

We continue to talk about buildings, but it is more than a building!

It is a school plant: The sum total of buildings, equipment, textbooks, learning materials including the surroundings where teaching and learning take place. School plants tell students who they are and what they should think about the world.

Moods and behaviors are influenced by our environment. Research by BRE Trust as part of its Better Performing Schools Project (2007) suggests pupil concentration, energy levels and mood are influenced by basic environmental factors such as natural light, noise, air quality and temperature.

Anyone who has taken a recent tour of Wa-Hi can attest to issues with each one of these components.

We are a rural community with strong support of our social and civic institutions, and our community tends to revolve around Walla Walla High School.

Town meetings occur in this facility. Residents attend sporting events, cheering for the kids they know, which tend to be most of them. A school play is an opportunity for our entire town to roll out its support and to visit with all our neighbors.

Students and staff support community needs and rallies. And because of its economic and social implications, Wa-Hi is often greeted with all the enthusiasm of a celebration. But because we don’t live there on a day-to-day basis, we forget it is aging.

Yes, we can have our challenges and differences but a school plant is essential to achieving positive outcomes in the teaching-learning process. It is the pillar of our community and supports teaching and learning activities.

The site, size, arrangement and other aspects of the classroom, support facilities such as labs, technology, toilets and other equipment can either be welcoming or repulsive.

Let’s make it even more welcoming! Please join me in voting “yes” for the Wa-Hi bond!

I like it, Doceo. Most out of town visitors come to events in the gym and are greeted on that part of campus by a metal shed, garbage dumpsters and a mini-power station, not to mention the surprisingly long wait to exit the lot after the game. The bond fixes all of this for our visitors, which is good PR for the whole community. As this letter mentions, the bond also creates a more uplifting environment for student learning. It's a winning proposal.

Of those who come to the high school -- and there are thousands each year -- most do so for sporting events and meetings in the Commons. So they park in the gym lot. That IS the first stop on their agenda.

If and when I get on vacation I go to museums and historical spots in the area - the last thing on my mind is to go see a high school and if and when I still had children in school we went to win and not admire anything but a trophy going home with us.
Just sayin!